Alone
by tmcala
Summary: Because they both share that characteristic.*Rachel centric*


**Alone~**

Alone. Solitary. Single

She had been a lonely child, quiet, withdrawn. Only opening herself when she was up _there_. On the moon, where she had built herself a palace, a home. And even then, so much of herself was kept locked up tight. She was surrounded by people (_her operatives_), voices (_"362, sir!"_), and yet, she always felt so alone.

Alone as she sat in the library of her school. Twelve years old and the most promising student in the district. She wondered if her operatives knew. Knew that heir fearless, quick, indefatigable leader was really just the quiet girl who sat behind a book in an armchair in the corner of the library for hours on end. She had given up trying to be anything, any_one_ different, for the moment she had thought that just _maybe_ she wasn't so alone, they had snatched him from her. They had taken away the rope that tethered her to the Earth, to this way of life, to _sanity_. Because truth be told, she has heard the whispers and she knows they all think she is just a little bit crazy now. For a while she had floated, lost _and_ alone. And when she landed, she was right back where she had started. Completely alone.

She took a shuddering breath that hitched in her throat, placed the book across her lap. What was she doing here?

She was the Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door, an organization _so_ prestigious that being its leader was nearly blasphemous. And she didn't deserve it in the least. She wasn't perfect, she wasn't all that smart, and she _certainly_ wasn't divine. How had she gotten there? Chad. A boy who from the start had looked at her with all the plans on Earth and on the moon. He had foreseen greatness in her from the first day she had stumbled into Arctic Base, almost on accident. She remembered how he had whispered his plan into her ear hastily on that morning as he hacked into the system, changing whatever birthdays he could. "You have to do this, Rachel," he had said. "That's the way it's meant to be."

She had done it. And she had done it well. Despite the ache in her stomach that her best friend could no longer be her best friend and despite the fact that she would have _never_ wanted to if he hadn't asked it of her. She had gone seamlessly from best spy to acclaimed leader because that was what he had wanted from her.

And then, when things get much too tough for a ten-year-old girl to handle, another boy was there. A boy who wished that he had what she did. She would have handed it over, willingly, thankfully, but he would not have it. Because while the rivalry ran deep between the two, Chad and Nigel weren't so different in the long run. Both boys saw something in her that she could never find herself.

But, as she sat alone in an empty library, there was no dreamer of a boy sitting next to her. There was only herself and a book.

Then, she smiled slightly as someone entered the library. Someone she knew and trusted because he was one of hers. One of her operatives. One of the best. One of the few who she was certain would never turn traitor. One who would stand by her side forever if she asked him to. One who had always had her back when they were young and still did then.

This boy sat down beside her and retrieved a book from his bag. She wasn't sure how he had known she was here. Maybe he didn't. But, if he hadn't, then it was more than a little strange that he was still wearing an army issued parka and thick wool beanie. He shook his head and bits of snow fell onto her book. Seeping through the page and blurring the words.

She glanced to her side to look at the boy who hadn't said even the slightest "Hello" to her and she watched his face, always so composed, never revealing _too_ much emotion, relax into a satisfied grin. She turned back to her book, losing herself in its pages. Not at all worrying about being alone.

He was a man of action. And the fact that he had come here, to sit beside her, instead of doing the very thing he loved, was enough for her to be certain that he would become her next hand to hold onto. Her guide in whatever craziness was coming next. He was her best soldier, he best warrior, and he would always do whatever it took to save her. It was more or less written in the job description.

And it was probably pretty lonely down there in Antarctica, anyway.

* * *

**A/N: Steph's prompt: a fic with the first being "alone"...got that. Interesting pairing bonus points? I actually like this one kind of a lot. Win!**


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